LaLiga matchday 18: Schedules, results and match summaries | Soccer | Sports

LaLiga EA Sports continues with the 18th day of the competition, the last before the winter break. All teams will be looking to close out the year in the best possible way. At the top of the table, Girona receives Benito Villamarín to face Betis and Real Madrid receives Alavés in Mendizorroza. On the other hand, FC Barcelona beat Almería (3-2) with complications and Atlético de Madrid equalized with Getafe (3-3) at the Metropolitano.

Barcelona – Almeria (3-2)

FC Barcelona beat Almería in Montjuïc, with more difficulty than expected. Raphinha opened the scoring after capitalizing on a rebound from a corner, but Leo Baptistao leveled the match for the Andalusians before the break. Already in the second half, Sergi Roberto gave his team the advantage with a superb header from another corner. With this, it seemed that Barça would sail calmly towards the end of the match, but Edgar González took advantage of a bad start from Iñaki Peña to equalize again and put some nervousness in the Barça ranks. Finally, Sergi Roberto himself, now captain, saved the furniture in the final straight after a good shot from Lewandowski behind the rival defense.

In the last play of the match, when the clock was already moving towards the 94th minute, Athletic won with a characteristic goal, of fury and pride. Sandro called for a foul which the referee did not award, Unai Gómez launched the counter-attack, passed the ball to Iñaki Williams, exhausted, but still with a little lucidity to cross into the area. There, Vallés, who had been a hero for 93 minutes, pushed towards the penalty spot and Unai launched himself, with all the faith in the world, to finish off Las Palmas, who suffered a cruel punishment when it seemed already have everything under your feet. control. Athletic is still there, with already 35 points, and is starting to believe it. Jon Rivas reports

Villarreal – Celta Vigo (3-2)

Villarreal beats Celta and wins again in the league after three unsuccessful matches. Alfonso Pedraza opened the scoring just before the first quarter of an hour, then Aissa Mandi increased the Castellón team’s advantage before the break. In the first minutes of the second half, Dani Parejo scored his team’s third goal via penalty, which hoped for a comfortable end to the match for Marcelino’s team. However, Celta reacted sharply and scored two goals in five minutes, one in the 52nd and another in the 57th, to put pressure on their rival until the end. The locals resisted their goal and took the three points at La Cerámica.

Betis – Girona (Thursday December 21 at 7:00 p.m., Movistar)

Benito Villamarín will witness one of the most attractive matches of the day, that of Betis against Girona this Thursday. The Greens and Whites are on the doorstep of European places and want to achieve a victory which will propel them towards this objective. Opposite will be the surprising team of Michel, who never stops dreaming of the top of the ranking and intends to continue to surprise with their football during the end of the year.

Cádiz – Real Sociedad (Thursday December 21 at 7:00 p.m., DAZN)

Cádiz hosts Real Sociedad at Nuevo Mirandilla this Thursday. The visitors barely held on against Betis, securing a draw that allows them to maintain their European positions, but Imanol Alguacil’s men want a victory that guarantees they go into the winter break in sixth place. To achieve this, they will have to defeat Cádiz, a team that has not won since the fourth day and is already starting to get involved in the fight for permanence.

Mallorca – Osasuna (Thursday December 21 at 9:30 p.m., Movistar)

Mallorca faces Osasuna at Son Moix. Javier Aguirre’s team continues to stay away from the relegation places, but they cannot be confident and a victory against the Navarrese would mean a dose of tranquility for the vermillion. Meanwhile, those led by Jagoba Arrasate arrive located in the middle table, without too many worries, but also far from the good performances displayed in previous years.

Alavés – Real Madrid (Thursday December 21 at 9:30 p.m., DAZN)

The last match of the day will take place in Mendizorroza, between Deportivo Alavés and Real Madrid. Ancelotti’s side are looking to close the year on a positive note, to continue fighting at the top of the table. For this, the Whites will seek to establish themselves in an area in which they have excelled in recent years,

Rayo Vallecano – Valencia (0-1)

Valencia beat Rayo Vallecano in the first match of the day. The only goal of the match was the work of Sergi Canós, who unleashed a spectacular right-footed strike to beat Dimitrievski, who could do little to prevent his goal from falling. With this victory, Rubén Baraja’s team leaves behind a streak of five games without a win in the competition, while the Rayista team sees its low times accentuate, reaching eight games without a win. The match was also marked by the expulsion of Thierry Correia, but as in the last minutes, it left Rayo little time to take advantage of the numerical superiority.

While it seemed that Atlético had resolved a match that had become difficult for them due to the expulsion of Savic before the break, a good Getafe, a destabilizing Grenwood and a predatory Borja Mayoral with two goals took them out of the top of the rank. Simeone’s team lost the 3-1 lead they had on the scoreboard with 20 to play and the Metropolitano was a party that celebrated the record of 21 consecutive victories and that Griezmann with his double equaled Luis Aragonés as the best scorer in history with 173 as many. A couple of hands from Riquelme around the 90th minute and an earlier goal from Óscar Rodríguez set up the final three-way tie. The match was exciting, with two teams dedicated to their ambition to win when they felt possible. Atlético had the epic tale of almost winning with one player less and Getafe had the opportunity to equalize that two-goal deficit when they seemed doomed to defeat. Ladislao Moñino reports

Quique made his debut on the Sevilla bench with a very important victory against Granada. Three points which calm the atmosphere of a disturbed club and which can serve as a revival after the dark period of Diego Alonso. A victory that puts Granada in a very delicate situation, a team without soul and, obviously, without a coach. The arrival of Cacique Medina resulted in one point out of nine possible. And especially in the expression of a Grenade who doesn’t know what she’s playing. Supporters left Los Cármenes in droves and left their team alone, at the mercy of a rival who won comfortably. Rafael Pineda informs

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